Imperial man arrested for lewd acts with minor

EL CENTRO — A 48-year-old Imperial man was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Thursday by sheriff’s deputies at his business in the 1500 block of West Main Street on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges related to having sex with a minor.

Raymundo J. Valenzuela, a registered sex offender, was booked into county jail for forcible lewd acts with a child under 14 years old, sodomy by force or fear, oral copulation by force or fear and communicating

Ray with a minor for

Valenzuela the purposes of committing a lewd act, all felonies.

Valenzuela is also alleged of having committed sexual battery and arranging a meeting with a minor, misdemeanors, and held on a $1 million bond, county Sheriff’s Office arrest records stated.

Arrest records also list Valenzuela’s occupation as a loan officer. The location of his arrest in El Centro appears to correspond with a LoanDepot office that is advertised online as being occupied by Valenzuela.

Valenzuela’s online business profile describes his years of success working as a loan officer and his former employment as an Imperial police officer.

Jail records indicate that Valenzuela has never been booked into the facility in the past, the county Sheriff’s Office reported.

Search warrants were executed at Valenzuela’s home, business and vehicle in connection to his arrest.

His arrest stems from a joint investigation by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and the Imperial Police Department, said sheriff’s Lt. Jimmy Duran.

The investigation had started Feb. 5 after authorities had received a complaint about a minor allegedly being sexually assaulted, Duran said.

Valenzuela had previously pleaded guilty in 2004 to contributing to the delinquency of a minor committed for the purposes of sexual gratification, the county District Attorney’s Office reported.